A place in Berkshire with a history you can trace through the records: its entry in the 1086 Domesday Book, the archaeological finds and scheduled monuments around it, and the nearest Roman sites and battlefields. Everything below is drawn from the historical record.
In 1086, Barton was held by Abingdon (St Mary), abbey of.
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Barton in 1086, they recorded 3 manors held by Abingdon (St Mary), abbey of, Reginald (of St Helens) and Hugh the cook. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Abingdon (St Mary), abbey of, Alward the priest, Leofwin the goldsmith, Leofwin and Northmann of Mereworth.
The settlement was assessed at 35 hides for tax. There was land for 46 ploughs, with 38 plough teams at work (4 in the lord's demesne and 34 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 104 heads of household: 64 villagers, 38 smallholders and 2 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (200 acres) and 4 mills. The manors were valued at 48 pounds in 1086, up from 27 pounds in 1066.
The Domesday Book was the great survey of England ordered by William the Conqueror in 1085 and completed in 1086, the oldest surviving public record in the country. How the survey worked →
Barton was one of the settlements recorded in Berkshire in the 1086 survey. Berkshire in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Barton's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Nationally registered historic battlefields within 25 miles of Barton.
116 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Barton, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Barton is West Walton Formation, Ampthill Clay Formation And Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Undifferentiated) (Kimmeridgian).
Aubrey's full report for this location includes every Domesday manor, the complete record of medieval lordship, archaeological context, and the story of how this settlement evolved from 1086 to the present day.